The Practice Of Hostage Taking
OUR TRIBUTE TO THOSE WE HAVE LOST MAY THEY REST IN PEACE THE PRACTICE OF HOSTAGE TAKING BY JESSICA ARORA The practice of taking hostages is very ancient, going as far back as Ancient Rome. The Romans were accustomed to take the sons of tributary princes and educate them at Rome, thus holding a security for the continued loyalty of the conquered nation and also instilling a possible future ruler with the same ideas as the already existing Roman rulers. This method also ensured that the people of the conquered nation would not riot. In 1972, the entire world was shocked when the practice of hostage-taking came into the public eye, in "Operation Iqrit and Bikram," a term given by the Black September (a Palestinian group) after two Palestinian Christian villages whose inhabitants were expelled by the Haganah (Israel Defense Force) in 1948. Eleven Israeli team members were taken hostage and eventually killed in this operation. At 4:30 am local time